Father Torres was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Lake Charles by Bishop Jude Speyrer on May 25, 1996 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and his first assignment was as Parochial Vicar to Our Lady Queen Catholic Church, serving from July 1, 1996 until June 30, 2000. He was named Pastor of St. Joseph Church in DeRidder in July 2000, serving there until his assignment to St. Henry in June 2008. He was appointed Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia by Bishop Provost on July 1, 2007. He also serves as Director of Seminarians and Vocations.
In 2010, Father Torres was nominated for the Catholic Church Extension Society’s Lumen Christi Award and was one of six finalists. In the nomination Father Torres was lauded for his good works, including his leadership in the Abrazando Cristo mission program that travels to Nicaragua each summer to provide help to those in tremendous need there. He also stood out for his work following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in assisting the displaced by offering his parish hall at St. Joseph in DeRidder as a shelter and organizing a food drive to provide sustenance to those who were in need. Then, less than one month later he remained at his parish during the passage of Hurricane Rita and continued to assist those in need who evacuated from the coastal areas.
A Chaplain to His Holiness is an honorary office given at the request of his bishop to a priest by the Vatican, in the person of the Holy Father’s Secretary of State. There are three “grades” or “types” for this honor. Chaplain to His Holiness is the initial grade. The next is Prelate of Honor, and the highest is Protonotary Apostolic. The grade to which a priest is appointed depends on certain qualifications, including age and years of ordination. Also, the Vatican has established a rule that not more than 10 percent of the clergy in a diocese may possess this title at any given time, but vicars general are always eligible for the honor. All priests so honored can then be addressed both in speaking and in correspondence with the title “Monsignor.”
The term “Monsignor” is the English form of a Romance language word meaning “My Lord”—in French “Monseigneur” or in Italian “Monsignore.” This form of address originated centuries ago and was used in documents and conversation with nobility or persons of distinction in society. It is simply an honorific, much as in our own society we speak of a “Colonel on the Governor’s Staff” or as a university differentiates its teaching staff with titles such as “Professor” or “Associate Professor.”
Titles such as this are used in the Church as honorifics but some would ask ‘Why have titles at all?’
“This is a very good question,” Bishop Provost said in discussing the conferral. “To understand why the Church uses titles in these rare instances one must remember that the Church is not only a divine institution but also a human one. It is a society, meaning simply a group of human beings who relate to one another at various levels.
“We use titles in our own secular society. Judges are addressed as ‘Your Honor,’” the Bishop continued. “Presidents, congress men and women, and secretaries of departments continue to be addressed as “Mr. President” or “Mr. Speaker” or “Madame Secretary” even after they have left office. Titles are a means for a society to show a deference and respect for senior or respected members of that society. In this way, the society keeps itself from becoming crude or impolite or disintegrating into barbaric behavior.
“Titles are also a way for a society to express how its members are related to one another,” Bishop Provost said. “Even in a society such as ours, namely contemporary American, where we are informal and consider it acceptable to address anyone we meet by his or her first name, we still honor certain people with either earned or honorary titles, such as ‘Chief,’ ‘Doctor,’ ‘Prof,’ or
‘Reverend.’”
For certain occasions, in church or at secular events like a commencement exercise, as a Chaplain to His Holiness, Monsignor Torres would dress in a purple-trimmed black cassock with a purple sash.
Monsignor Torres joins eight other priests of the Diocese who have also been honored as Honorary Prelates. Three - Msgr. Charles Dubois, Msgr. James M. Gaddy, and Msgr. Harry D. Greig – are also Chaplains of Honor while the others – Msgr. Joseph A. Bourque, Msgr. Ronald Groth, Msgr. Louis Melancon, Msgr. Vincent A. Sedita; and Msgr. Jace F. Eskind – are Prelates of Honor to His Holiness.
Only two priests who have served in the Diocese of Lake Charles since its establishment in 1980 were Protonotaries Apostolic – the late Msgr. Irving A. DeBlanc and the late Msgr. Amos Vincent.
